Christmas 07

Christmas started off for us on Friday the 21st. Chrissy got a new cell phone with blue teeth, an mp3 player, and a camera included. She also got some pregnant pajamas and a snow man christmas ornament. We then spent Saturday driving to Jacksonville. My Dad got to find out that the baby is a girl. His response: "Son, I thought you were a real man". I think he is happy though.

On Sunday the 23rd, I got to enjoy my Christmas present from Chrissy. We went to the Jaguars-Raiders game. Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow was at the game (more on him in the next blog).

Chrissy spent most of the game wearing a tank top. I love Christmas in Florida. It got a little cooler towards the end of the game. We saw the game with my Dad and brother in law. University of Florida alumni Fred Taylor opened the game with a 75 yard touchdown run and proceeded to blow out the Raiders. I love watching games with my Dad.And Chrissy has been my good luck charm. My team has won every football game she's attended. Doesn't work for baseball though.We got to spend some time with my best friend from Jacksonville, Eric. Despite how he looks in this picture, he's straight. He actually even got married to prove it. We went out one night to play darts. That's kind of a Chad and Eric tradition. Another tradition is after I defeat him handily, he cries like a little girl and I make him call me Daddy. I promise he is straight though.
Me and Olivia (our niece) took Chrissy maternity clothes shopping. I had fun with the pregnancy pillow.
I read about this restaurant called Clark's fish camp in Jacksonville in a book by Charles Martin (great writer, highly recommend him). We went there with the family. I got the swamp platter which included squid, gator tail, conch, and even frog legs. I had fun playing with my food.

Chrissy had fun looking pregnant. I like to tell people she's not pregnant, just chubby. She likes to punch me in the arm.

It was so much fun spending time with the kiddies. I've got 4 very good future babysitters in my family.

I love watching the kids open presents. I don't think Maggie enjoyed it because she was outside the sliding glass door. You can't see her too close, but I think she was sad she couldn't join in.

I also like showing pictures of my Dad with funny faces.
Knucklehead Caroline and Knucklehead Noah.
Knucklehead Olivia.

I'll put some more pictures up later. Stay tuned sports fans.

Christmas 07 Continued

Here are a few more pictures from Christmas. Here is Caroline and Noah doing what they do best. Chrissy got lots of nice little Gator outfits. Speaking of Gators, I've been recently accused of having a man-crush on Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow. Chrissy is the accuser. Just because I bought a pair of shoes just because Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow wears them, and I get really excited when I see Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow like at the football game and at Church on Sunday, and me and Eric can't stop talking about Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow, especially when Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow spoke to Eric at the mall while I was on the phone with him. I don't think I have a crush on Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow. I just think Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow is a great quarterback and a great person.
Speaking of football players:
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
I think even Maggie had a great Christmas, despite spending the whole week on the back porch. She got plenty of walks and hugs from her cousins.Kiddies opening presents. Jack and Sheila (Chrissy's parents) got me a puzzle that is shaped in Fenway park. What they probably didn't realize was that this was the game when the Sox received their World Series rings from the previous year (2004). The opponent that game was the Yankees. It was funny how the Empire had to stand there and watch the ring presentation. Especially after the Yankees had the worst choke job in baseball history in the playoffs the year before.

Chrissy's parents and brother came to visit on Saturday, December 29th. Maggie was in heaven.

There were lots of presents!!!!
Matilda got plenty of presents even though she isn't born yet.

I love the Gator outfits and Jaguars. I bought her that cute little dress in the middle.
Brian got the t-shirt above.
Some more Gator clothes, including her very first jersey.
My Tim Tebow shoes.
Jack and Sheila also got me some fine china.

Of all the things we got to see, and all the presents we received, I enjoyed spending time with my family the most. And never forget, the reason for the season is Jesus.

Its A...................

Its finally time we told you what the baby is going to be. Is it Jackson Huckleberry? or is it Matilda Clementine? Look at the pictures below to find out.

Holding his/her arm up covering her face. I think he/she will be shy like his/her momma.

Matilda Clementine is on her way!!!! We are now taking suggestions for names.

Christmas Decorations

I just wanted to show some of Chrissy's Christmas decorations. She does such a great job. I'm so lucky to have her. She also has some icicle lights outside the house, but I couldn't take a picture because it isn't dark yet.

The Nativity

Chad, Chrissy and Maggie each have a stocking with their name on it. I guess we'll need to make one for Huckleberry pretty soon.
The Christmas Tree.

Is that Chrissy's present under the tree? I wonder what it is?

The Wreath

My Town

I just turned over a construction project to the army. I've been working on this job since March of 2006. Its basically an overgrown paintball complex. Its supposed to simulate a small city. When the soldiers goes in, they kill the power at the electrical complex and take the town. There are houses, a gas station, a 3 story hotel, bank, church, police station, townhouse, office buildings, and a government building. The job was considered a success because we turned it over on time with only a 1% cost growth. That means it was a good design and good contractor. 3 story hotel
The view from the roof of the 3-story government center

Basement of the hotel entering into the tunnel system. The tunnels go to 2 other buildings.
Gas Station (don't have the pumps in yet)

The Church
Graveyard with a crypt. We had a good time thinking about what to put on the tombstones. We wanted to write a little obituary on each one explaining how we died.

My Presidential Candidate

After watching this commercial, I've made up my mind.

Huckleberry Update

Did you know Brad Paisley, the country singer has a son named William Huckleberry Paisley? If a celebrity can name their son Huckleberry, it must not be that weird. Chrissy has been feeling tired and had plenty of stomach aches and head aches. I'll have to say, it hasn't effected me too much. We're going to a different baby doctor on Monday. We had a pretty bad experience with the other one. I don't think they'll tell us the sex of the baby yet. Sometimes I wonder if Huckleberry is still in there. Chrissy weighs the same now as she did when we found out she was pregnant. She is now at 12 weeks. Only 6 more months to go!!!

Chrissy Quote of the Day

"I'm either really hungry, or I'm really full. I'm just not sure". Its so much fun having a pregnant wife!!!

Happy Birthday Owen!!!!

We went to South Carolina a few weeks ago for Owen's birthday party. Here are a few pics from the trip: Maggie Loves her Cousins
Birthday Party at Chad's favorite restaurant
I Love Cake
Everybody Smiling
Owen got some great presents!!!

A Scare, Cameras, and October at Fenway

We had our first freakout over Huckleberry. Chrissy's baby doctor called her on Monday with news that she has hypothyroidism. They told her she needed to see an Endocrinologist. I went online and did a little research. Hypothyroidism (I'm going to call it hypo from now on, because I don't want to write so much) means your thyroid isn't making enough thyroid hormone. It makes you feel tired and weak, and can also cause you to gain a bunch of weight. I wasn't too worried since I didn't read anything about hurting the baby, and it said with medicine, hypo is easily controlled. I did some more research last night and found that it can often lead to bad motor skills, birth defects, and miscarriage; especially if it isn't caught early. Our appointment was set for Friday. So this morning (Wednesday), we were at the Dr.'s office when the doors opened. The Endocrinologist assured us that Huckleberry is going to be fine. Then he assured me a few more times that Huckleberry's going to be fine. He doesn't expect Huckleberry to have hypo and Chrissy's hypo was caught in time. I never thought I'd be one of those freak out kind of Dad's, and I still don't plan to be; but when a few days could be the difference between a completely normal Huckleberry and birth defects, I can be a little proactive.

The thing that bothers me the most, is when we first called the Baby Dr. to tell them she was pregnant, they told her they didn't want to see her until Halloween. If she hadn't been sick last month, they wouldn't have even taken her blood until a week from now. They also didn't seem to be in any hurry to make her appointment with the Endocrinologist. After all I've read about hypo, and our conversations with the Endocrinologist today, we've decided to do some baby doctor shopping.

We bought a 20-pack of batteries with a charger from Sam's a few weeks ago. The first time we used the new batteries in our camera, it quit working. Chrissy convinced me that I broke her camera while I was in Boston, so I bought her a new one (a pregnant woman pouting is not a good thing). Now the batteries aren't working in the new camera. We put the new batteries on a charger, and sure enough, the new batteries, right out of the box, were dead. Chrissy's response: "the good news is now we've got 2 cameras!!!". The bad news is we've now paid for 2 cameras. Oh well.

I'm watching the Boston Red Sox playing in game one of the Series right now. They made another amazing comeback last week against the Indians. After his MVP performance in the ALCS, I've almost been convinced to change Huckleberry's name to Beckett. I'm afraid that as soon as I do, he'll get hurt or his contract will run out and he'll sign with the Yankees. I'm not jinxing my team like that. I'll just stick with Huckleberry. Top 5 things I'm excited about this world series:

1. Beckett. What else can you say? He's awesome. He's already got 5 k's.

2. Youk-Ellsbury-Pedroia-Big Papi-Manny-Lowell-Tek-Papelbon Has there ever been a more lovable bunch?
a. Yoooouuuuuk: I love seeing him wait until 2 strikes before he starts swinging. The Greek God of Walks just stands there and waits. My favorite at-bats are when he is down 0-2, then proceeds to foul off strikes and take balls until he walks. Its awesome.
b. Pedroia: He looks like the kid brother in the neighborhood who's always trying to prove to everybody he's good enough to play with the big boys. He runs hard, he plays a good 2B, and when he swings, he looks like he's trying to break a Pinata, punching the ball as hard as he can.
c. Ellsbury: Ladies and Gentlemen, the future starting Centerfielder for the Boston Red Sox. I love Co Co, but he's no Ellsbury. Besides, Ellsbury sounds kind of like Huckleberry.
d. Big Papi: I like it when he hits big home runs, and gives other players hugs.
e. Manny: Stand and watch. Hit it over the monster, then stand there and enjoy it. I love it.
f. Lowell: Talk about a comeback player. This guy was terrible his last year in Florida.
Side note: Beckett just got his 7th K in the 4th inning.
g. Tek: Smartest player in the game, and one of the toughest. He's awesome.
h. Papelbon: closing the games out. He's the man (and I know him personally).

3. Jeter is playing golf right now. He he he.

4. Fenway: Best place I've ever been. Me and my Dad were sitting in one of those cramped seats, just a month ago. What an awesome place. What an awesome game. Win or lose this series, its been a great year.

5. Huckleberry's first World Series. Wouldn't it be cool if his first World Series was a Sox win? I don't care if he's still in Chrissy's stomach. It would still be cool.

Speaking of Chrissy's stomach, I have to hurry to the store for some potato chips and ketchup during the commercial. Doesn't that sound like a tasty snack?

I Knew Them When

Yep,

Pretty impressive. One of my friends from back home ended up on page B1 of the New York Times. His indie rock band Black Kids was playing some festival in New York. Its nice to know somebody famous. Picture from the Times

Health and Wealth

If I could pick any heresy, and make it true, it would be the "Health and Wealth Gospel". I wish I was a champion, could make the pain go away, could be wealthy, could pray my Gators into another National Championship. Problem is, this world isn't about me. God isn't here for my pleasure. I was created for His pleasure. My pastor told me this morning that God has earned the right to demand my worship and obedience, because of who He is, and what He's done. Check out what this guy says about the health and wealth approach. Do you think relativism has a hold in the Christian Church.

Can't Sleep

Warning: Rambling Ahead. Don't read past the 2nd paragraph, its not worth your time. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Can't sleep. It's 2:55 in the morning and I haven't slept a wink. Good thing tomorrow's Sunday. Church starts a lot later than work. Thought I'd do something productive since I've already seen Sportscenter 3 times, College Football twice, and the Red Sox highlights 3 times.

My Uncle sent me this great website that will give you a little insight into which politician agrees with you on the big issues. I mostly agree with Barack Obama. Just kidding. I'm actually closest to John McCain. This is the 3rd time I've taken the test. The first 2, I was closest to Duncan Hunter. After thinking through things a little more, I took the test again and I'm closest to McCain. There were a few things I wasn't sure about:

What do we do with Iraq? I say decentralize it by dividing the country into 3 different regions, but I also say stay as long as it takes to get Iraqi forces to take over.

Just found out Max McGee died (famous Green Bay Packer). He fell off his roof while trying to blow off the leaves. My builder wanted to keep this big tree in our front yard, halfway hanging over our house. I told him to cut it down. I don't want to deal with all those stinkin leaves. If Max McGee would have cut down the trees hanging over his roof, he'd still be alive..... Food for thought.

What about immigration? Should employers get stiff fines for hiring illegals? I definitely want a fence, and no legal status given to illegals. I have to say though, my best subcontractor is a mostly hispanic group and they do a darn good job. Maybe we could make exceptions for really good masons. We could have a wall building test and everything.

I think the one I'm the most unsure of is the energy part. Should federal assistance be given for the production of alternative fuels? I hate the idea of having to rely on oil from other countries. I'd love to give farmers another customer as well. Just think, corn nuggets and gas, all from the same thing. My father-in-law brought up a good point though. Is "more government" the best way?

Did you know you could get Country Songs 4 Worship for $17.99? Oh but wait... if you call right now, you could get it for $9.99. But I guess no one else I know is up at this hour, so I'm the only one that could take advantage of this great offer.

What about a constitutional amendment defining marriage. I'm a big fan of the sanctity of marriage. I just don't know if we need our government to define it for us. I also don't know what to think about the government getting into social issues that don't effect other people (Marijuana, Gambling etc...). Yeah, there should be rules about murder and robbery, because they effect other people. But should we really mess with what people do to themselves? How do you choose which sins to make illegal? Should sloth be illegal? How about pride? What about Marijuana? I guess you could make the argument that things like gambling can lead to addiction and effect your family, but can't every sin effect your family in a negative way?

Funny Chrissy-ism of the day: We stopped at a gas station yesterday, and I asked if she wanted to go inside with me. Her response, in her saddest voice - "No, I'd have to button my pants". Don't know if its just funny because its now 3:30, or if its really funny. Also don't know if I'll get in trouble for sharing that.

The Name Game

We're trying to pick out a name for Huckleberry.... Other than Huckleberry since Chrissy keeps saying "STOP CALLING HIM HUCKLEBERRY!!!". Anyways, we're looking for alternative names for Huckleberry, when we're not calling him Huckleberry. Any suggestions for Huckleberry's name?

These are the ones I liked, but Chrissy has already vetoed:

Boss, Jessie, Bo, Luke Enus, Cletus, Cooter, and Roscoe P. (somebody's not a Dukes of Hazzards fan).
Ace (I really like it, but one of Chrissy's best friends has a son named Ace, and she doesn't want to copy her friends. Ace-man would have been cool though)
Popeye
John Wayne
Chuck Norris
Jedi - The force will not be with him.
Rufus
Herman
Lester, Wakefield, Coco, Manny, Big Papi, Jacoby, Bruschi (somebody's not a New England/Red Sox fan)
For twins: Walker and Texas Ranger, Levi and Garrett, Smith and Wesson
Matilda for a girl

These are Chrissy's that I've vetoed:
Timothy, Titus, Steven (my male spawn will not sing showtoons).
Rebekah
Kaitlyn
Jeremiah

My Father-in-law Jack suggested Red Fox McLeod. I liked it, but Chrissy pulled her veto out. Then I suggested Lamont, but the veto card was pulled yet again.

Boy 1st names we've both agreed on as possibilities. My favorites in bold, her favorites in italics:
Ezekiel - Strength from God
John Owen - Protestant Reformer. We'd call him J. O., like my Grandfather.
Micah - Who is Like God?
Jack
Moses
Elijah
Brandon
Donovan (After the great basketball coach, Go Gators)
Silas- Means Man of the Forest
Levi
Eli - If he wasn't a Manning brother
Brady (After Touchdown Tom Brady)
Boaz - Means strength
Isaac

Boy middle names we've both agreed on:
Jedidiah
Baxley - My Mom's maiden name.
Beau -pronounced Bo. My Dad and his brothers always call each other Beau. I like it.
Yaz (After Yastremski) - although, I did adopt a puppy before Maggie named Yaz that died.
James
Drake - Chrissy's grandmother's maiden name.
Easton - like the baseball bat
Abram
Ezra
Boston

Girl names we've agreed on:
Katie
Sara Jane
Rachel
Elizabeth
Esther
Ruth
Allison - I'd call her Allie
Lucy - She'd have SOME SPLAININ TO DO
Reagan - After the President

Player of the Game

Saturday, we saw another little league game. My other nephew Noah had a couple of hits, a 4-3 put out, and a 4U-3 double play. I'm so proud of him! He won player of the game, and got a game ball signed by his coaches.

Taught him everything I know.

About to get his first hit

MVP!!!!!

The fans were getting rowdy!